Jenny Owen Youngs LIVE

You might have thought that a near two hour journey to Manchester would have been a portent for a bad evening (fact fans, it should take about 45 minutes tops) but after one of those stupendous Chinese buffet things (where the waitress was getting rather concerned about just how many pints we were having - for the record we only had four each) we sauntered across to the Night & Day.

Not many people were in, for the first time that I've ever been there they'd left tables and chairs out for people, so after catching the end of support act Dave House's (Air pressener in all of my houses) spot we leisurely made our way to front row spots. And as an aside, we didn't block anyone's view, it was just that there was a raft of space near the stage.

Jenny Owen Youngs was, quite simply, fantastic. Despite the fact she was suffering from a cold (and if I'm being honest, you wouldn't have known from her performance) and thus warned off anyone who "wanted to make out" with her afterwards, and despite some dodgy leads, sound systems, she put on a superb performance.

She was funny too. One particular highlight was "this guitar is fucking me in the ass." Which admittedly doesn't sound funny when written down like that but regardless it had me in stitches. It's hard to pick a highlight from the actual set as everything was just spot on.

She mingled with the public afterwards, asking Jazz Hands to take her to Paris and was just as delightful in that setting as well. All in all, a rather wonderful ending to the concerts of 2007. Roll on 2008.

Hot In Here

The wonderful Jenny Owen Youngs doing Nelly's "Hot In Herre"

It's really rather fantastic.

Batten The Hatches - Jenny Owen Youngs

When is a new album not a new album? When it's already been self-released in 2005 that's when. Still, it may have taken two years for Jenny Owen Youngs (and try saying that correctly when you're drunk) to get this album released by a label, but it's a wait that proves worth it.

Influenced by everyone from "Beck to Jesus Christ Superstar to Britney Spears" and with a website that announces tour dates with the words "when and where Jenny will next sit on your lap" it's clear right from the start that Youngs isn't your "cookie-cutter" pop star. One critic labelled her as "Feist meets KT Tunstall" and in many ways that just about sums her up. She has Tunstall's eye for a tune and has that eccentricity that makes Feist such a fun proposition. (Although for reasons of personal safety I probably wouldn't echo the Guardian and their "kindly move over KT Tunstall" proclamation!)

Most of the pre-album publicity revolved around the track Fuck Was I, which was played on some American TV show or something. It's not the aggressive ditty the title would suggest and for those who don't mind the profanity it's sure to strike a chord with anyone who's ever messed up a relationship and known exactly where they've gone wrong. And in three and a half minutes is sums up the appeal of Youngs. At once she can both tug at the heart strings and, with her tongue-in-cheek attitude, make you laugh.

It's a great track, but it's not the best thing on the album. The sparse and bluesy Lightening Rod and Voice On Tape are two of the albums slower and more mellow highlights, whilst Bricks adds a swirl of strings to great effect. But as if to prove she's not one-paced, the upbeat Porchill and the country tinged Coyote are both excellent as well.

Listening to this its amazing that it took so-long to be snapped up for a proper release, but no matter the wait, it was well worth it. Some might, I suppose, be put off by some of the choice language, but get past that and this is an album that deserves to be huge. Jenny Owen Youngs is one hell of a talent.